Novel nuclear methylation of sterols by the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans possesses a unique sterol methylation pathway not reported to occur in any other organism and also removes the C-24 ethyl group of sitosterol (a plant sterol). This nematode produced substantial quantities of 4 alpha-methyl-5 alpha-cholest-8(14)-en-3 beta-ol and smaller amounts of lophenol from dietary cholesterol, desmosterol or sitosterol. When C. elegans was propagated in media containing sitosterol plus 25-azacoprostane hydrochloride (25-aza-5 beta-cholestane hydrochloride), an inhibitor of delta 24-sterol reductase in insects, its 4 alpha-methylsterol fraction largely consisted of equal amounts of 4 alpha-methyl-5 alpha-cholesta-7,24-dien-3 beta-ol and 4 alpha-methyl-5 alpha-cholesta-8(14),24-dien-3 beta-ol. Thus 25-azacoprostane hydrochloride inhibited both a delta 24-sterol reductase and a delta 7-sterol isomerase in C. elegans.